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The nerve.
EmilyO'Connor was taking a Thomas Cook Airlines flight from Birmingham, England, to Tenerife, Spain, when airline staff threatened to kick her off the flight for wearing "inappropriate attire."
O'Connor says airline staff told her she would need to "cover up" with more clothing because her outfit was "causing offense."
What she was wearing: A crop top.
O'Connor posted about the experience on Twitter.
She says four staff members readied themselves to retrieve her luggage and remove her from the plane.
Flying from Bham to Tenerife, Thomas Cook told me that they were going to remove me from the flight if I didn’t “co… https://t.co/4IO0V21U3Y— Emily O'Connor (@Emily O'Connor) 1552428617.0
She added that a passenger swore at her, telling her to "put a f*cking jacket on."
Airline staff did not reprimand the other passenger.
I informed the staff that there is no “appropriate wear” policy stipulated online. I stood up on the flight and ask… https://t.co/dq63wKvXZw— Emily O'Connor (@Emily O'Connor) 1552428812.0
To top it off they allowed a man hurl abuse at me whilst the Flight manager and 4 air staff stood and said nothing.— Emily O'Connor (@Emily O'Connor) 1552428881.0
She also provided more context, noting, among other things, that airline staff "made comments over the speaker about the situation and left me shaking and upset on my own."
just a bit more context for those asking: wore this through the airport (security, passport control etc), boarded t… https://t.co/ToXfHz6nCI— Emily O'Connor (@Emily O'Connor) 1552432599.0
asked the plane (as they were all listening now anyway) if I was offending anyone, no-one said a word. The manager… https://t.co/vLHZRzmIPu— Emily O'Connor (@Emily O'Connor) 1552432693.0
I was given a jacket by my cousin sitting at the front of the plane and they did not leave until I physically put i… https://t.co/d5Et61aoLf— Emily O'Connor (@Emily O'Connor) 1552432799.0
Thomas Cook Airlines issued an apology after O'Connor's story went viral.
"We are sorry that we upset Ms. O'Connor," a Thomas Cook spokesperson said. "It's clear we could have handled the situation better."
Then:
"In common with most airlines, we have an appropriate-attire policy. This applies equally to men and women of all ages without discrimination. Our crews have the difficult task of implementing that policy and don't always get it right."
The airline's attire policy states the following:
"Customers wearing inappropriate attire (including items with offensive slogans or images) will not be permitted to travel unless a change of clothes is possible. Footwear must be worn on the aircraft."
Many have rallied around O'Connor and offered their support.
@emroseoconnor I’m crew myself and would not think twice to ask you to cover up, there is no policy on what you can… https://t.co/9OlGw1KtmG— Jade Charlotte (@Jade Charlotte) 1552435526.0
@emroseoconnor i literally flew from Bham to DUBAI in a bralet smaller than yours and some joggers on Emirates.. if… https://t.co/CQl2tcjEj3— ju!cy (@ju!cy) 1552478288.0
@emroseoconnor @ThomasCookUK subjecting a 22 year old female to this kind of abuse over the exposure of her arms an… https://t.co/mabjv57ff9— Eleanor Smith (@Eleanor Smith) 1552432152.0
@emroseoconnor I work at an airport, people come through dressed like this all the time? I’ve seen guys wearing les… https://t.co/PhKIPMeayd— ǝıןʎɐz (@ǝıןʎɐz) 1552477011.0
@emroseoconnor This is awful! I was on a flight to Portugal and there was a hen do on board and they were wearing a… https://t.co/at8zDUC21Q— Chantelle.👻🎃🔮⚰🖤🦇🕸💚🕷👽☠🧡 (@Chantelle.👻🎃🔮⚰🖤🦇🕸💚🕷👽☠🧡) 1552477769.0
O'Connor did end up going to Spain, by the way...
...and now that her story's gone viral, she's appeared on ITV's This Morning to discuss it.
We'd say she had the last laugh.